


Medically Speaking

by flippednique



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, apathetic Nico, completely fictional - Freeform, medical AU sorta, not at all factual, trigger warning, trying hard Will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 08:26:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8049277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flippednique/pseuds/flippednique
Summary: Will Solace knew he had a calling to help even at the young age of five. One of his little sister's plush doll's had lost an eye and Will had studied hard and used much of his own common sense and logic to bring Ms. Darlin's eyesight back to 20/20. Now he was twenty-three and being sent out on one of the oddest medical discoveries of the century. Their patient was the same age as him, the same gender as him, heck, they were probably anatomically identical and yet... Nico di Angelo had no immune system. He was practically a dead man trapped in an incredibly sanitized four walled bedroom that was bigger than Apollo's reception area. The days come quickly and Will realizes Nico's broken and so very beautiful.





	1. RMT

If there was anything odd about the situation, Will couldn't bother to comment about it. Nothing he'd had to go through so far could be considered normal. The convoy to their secret base of operations was made up of heavy duty vehicles with tinted windows that were probably also bullet proof. In at least fifteen was a team of some of the best health allied professionals money could buy.

In his car, he sat with Percy Jackson, RN. to his left and Jason Grace, PT to his right. Both, he knew, had passed their respective board exams with flying colors, ranking first in the country making their university (a lot of money) so incredibly proud. It was no wonder they were a part of this out-reach assignment. Their names alone held much merit what with both coming from a long line of much respected health professionals.

Will wondered if he deserved to be there with these prodigies. He had worked his way to where he was, an RMT, without relying much on his father after so many complications, no matter how good Apollo's intentions. For a second he wanted to slap himself, he had the skills and mettle to be here. How odd, he usually didn't doubt himself.

The scenery out the car turned into lush green forests as they left the city proper. He leaned further back into his seat and let out a sigh. Grace had already fallen asleep, coming off from the night shift. It was okay, they were told that they'd had a bit of ride. Jackson, however, looked wide awake.

His sea green eyes were bright but also warry as he asked, "Did you get a better explanation than 'Jackson, you're going home-based, get your kit STAT.'?"

"No." Will grinned, the silence broken. "I got a memo to report to the emergency room, which was really odd. No explanation at all."

"That's terrible, man." Percy offered a hand with a goofy-looking smile. "Percy Jackson, nice to meet you."

Will gave him a firm handshake, smiling right back. "Will Solace, pleasure to meet you."

It was more comfortable in the car then. Percy was staring out the window. "What do you think we'll do? They have a nurse, a physical theraphist, a medical technologists, various pathologists..."

"Maybe they discovered a new virus?" Will suggested.

Percy responded to that with even wider sea green eyes and he looked like he wanted to scream but couldn't because Grace was sleeping. He settled for whispering heatedly, but there was still a note of hysteria somewhere in there. "You don't think we're gonna deal with zombies do you? 'Cause that's not cool, man. You guys have a deeper understanding of bacteria and I just cannot deal with a zombie apocalypse, I'm going to get married next year! The cake's gonna be blue! It's gonna be expensive as hell to cancel!"

Will chuckled under his breath. "You're financial stability is going to be just fine. I don't think anyone's been playing with any microorganisms to start a zombie apocalypse. Now that I think about it though it would explain the secrecy. Either that or we're probably on-duty attending to a royal."

"Huh," Percy said consideringly. "I'd take prissy princess over the walking dead any day."

"Same." Will nodded with understanding.

The ride seemed shorter now, as they talked about anything and possibly everything. Their classes, their core subjects, their late night endeavors. It had been hell to get where they were now.

"I don't get it." Percy let out after an hour or so into the drive. "The world barely knows what medical technologists do and I heard that the pay isn't any better. Why'd you choose it?"

Will's eyebrows had practically soared up his forehead to join the flying birds in the blue sky, but thankfully they stayed on his forehead albeit a little higher than usual.

Percy seemed to take his surprise in equal shock and he scrambled to explain himself. "Oh, hey man, I don't mean anything by it! It was a stupid question."

Will shook his head. "No, I mean. That's actually a really good question. One the world deserves to know the answer to."

"I'm flattered and all but I think I'm only Annabeth's world." Percy frowned. "And that's not even a hundred percent of the time."

Will grinned, because he'd heard about Annabeth already. "I'm sure she loves you Percy. Her wedding cake's gonna be blue."

Percy grinned right back. "You're right. She loves me."

"Anyways," Will cleared his throat. "My professor once told me, if your goal in life is to become rich and famous, then MT is not the profession for you. And he's right. It's the worst profession to be in if you wanna be personally honest. But then it's also the best profession, because even if people don't recognize us for what we do, we do make differences. We take samples, so minute and so ordinary to you and we extract truth for the doctor's diagnosis. Without us, he'd just be guessing. Without us, it would all be estimation."

Will inhaled deeply. "I've wanted to help people ever since I knew I could. This, this is a profession that gets a stigma for delivering pain for result. My best friend once told me to never comfort her with a lie even if I had to hurt her with the truth. And that's what I do as an MT. That's what I do to get you what you need to feel better. Even if you have to hate me or ignore me for it."

There was silence in the car again, and Will wondered if Percy noticed the tightness of his jaw from how hard he was clenching it. He would not cry just because he sometimes felt downright heartbroken over how neglected he sometimes felt. He steeled himself for the scoff, the look of confusion. Nurses were at least recognized members of the allied medical industry. He was completely floored by Percy's response.

"Thank you."

Will looked up.

"I became a nurse because I wanted to help people too." Percy was smiling. "I'm glad, to be a part of a team with someone as passionate as you. I'm sure that no matter what happens our patient will be in good hands."

What.

"I'm sorry, I hope you won't hate me for lying." Percy chukled, his cheeks flushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his messy hair. "I'm actually a returning member of this home-base operation. Our client is very particular about who he involves in this team and he has some of the older members test newbies."

"Wait," Will raised a hand. "You mean, you know where we're going?"

"Uh huh." Percy pointed Grace, still snoring peacefully against the car door. "So does he. We were both recruited two years ago. We've decided to stay."

"Stay?" Will repeated. "Did others leave?"

"It's a delicate situation, to be honest. Some left because they had to be let go. Some left because they couldn't handle the complexity of the circumstances." Percy licked his lips, breathing deeply as he consdired his words. "I hope... you stay longer than them, Will. I can feel you're a good person."

Will nodded stiffly. "Thanks. Do you think you could tell me more about what you know? Or do I have to jump through some fire hoops or recite sonnets?"

"Ah," Percy chuckled. "No, no more tests. I'll explain things as simply as possible then you can ask me questions if you get confused."

Will grined slightly. "No jargon?"

"Yes jargon." Percy shot back. "The patient is a twenty-three year old male with a history of zero contact with other organisms. When I say the situation is delicate, I mean it. You'll probably learn from your seniors and understand better than I can when I tell you that Nico doesn't have any antibodies."

"No antibodies?" Will gaped. "How is that even possible? His body should be able to develop that through contact with the environment! Antigens! He should be able to produce the necessary anti-body to combat that!"

"Okay, this should be the time I tell you that I slept through what little blood banking and serology I had to go through to pass my boards." Percy said. "You said environment, that's thing. Nico's been contained in a safehouse for almost all his life. He's never had contact outside. Anything he needs, comes inside to see him, never the other way around. That's what I meant by zero contact with other organisms. I literally meant everything."

"People are naturally infectious, though. It's the universal precaution." Will replied.

"That's what makes it so delicate and umm, tiring for some people." Percy looked down at his lap. "Lovino, Nico's father, is extremely protective of him. He's spent so much money on keeping Nico contained."

"Why?" Will asked. "This can't be healthy for him. This can't be helping him feel better. Humans are naturally social. A contained environment can't be doing anything for his development."

"It's kept him alive for twenty-three years." Percy shot back defiantly. "We might not understand the principle but we do understand the motive. Nico's turning twenty-four in two months, his sister didn't make it to sixteen."

Will's reply got stuck in his throat. "It's genetic?"

"Most probably." Percy nodded. "His father has had him safely hidden away since he was ten. That's when Bianca died and Lovino couldn't think of any other way to keep Nico alive."

Will couldn't think of a thing to say. He mulled over what he'd learned. A patient with no anti-bodies. Everything must be so incredibly sterile. Percy didn't disturb his thoughts or his silence. Jason woke up an hour more into the ride and their driver had kindly provided them with some burgers at a take out. Will had devoured his meal at a quick pace, despite chugging his Pepsi beforehand. The good Lord knew he needed the sugar back into his system, otherwise he might not be able to properly function. They'd woken Jason up when they had food because he was probably really hungry after a night shift and a few hours of sleep. He took the take-out bag with a gratefully sleepy look.

"Are those contacts?" Percy gaped. "You slept with your contacts on?"

"That's really dangerous." Will said.

Jason chewed his mouthful then swallowed. "I forgot to take them out. I was just so tired, and my glasses are in my bag. I can't take them out now."

"Rough shift, huh?" Will sympathized.

"You know it. I'm glad to be back on this case. Taking care of Nico is really easy for me. He responds so well." Jason paused for a moment then actually dropped his burger in shock. He was look between Percy and Will. "Does he-?"

"He passed." Percy grinned. "He's on board."

"I'm on board." Will promised.

Jason gave a sigh of relief then picked his burger up. "You'll like him. He's adorable."

"Adorable?" Will echoed.

"Like a little brother." Jason explained. "He's usually quiet though, since he's used to being alone. Percy puts a valiant effort into getting him to talk more."

"And I usually make progress!" Percy said waving a fry in the air. "The three months we're with him, I get him to the point of exchanging long conversations. I leave for the next three months to be exposed in the system, then when I come back he's back to nodding and staring."

Nodding and staring. Will felt a shiver wreck his spine as Jason and Percy sent him not so subtle looks of warning. He opted to say nothing about it because he wasn't the judgemental type to start with. He settled for looking out the window, the sun had set and it was dark out. They'd been on th road for maybe four hours. "Are we there yet?"

Jason took the change of subject in stride. "Nope. Not gonna be there anytime soon either. You should get some sleep."

Will shook his head. "I won't be able to sleep later."

"Wanna watch a movie?" Percy asked. "These things are awesome. Lovino has them equipped for the med-team's absolute comfort. He's... thoughtful that way, even though some of the med-staff secretly calls him Hades."

Will practically oggled the sudden appearance of electronics in the car. "Can't imagine why anyone would want to leave. Wait, Hades?"

"Lovino's name literally means to ruin." Percy chuckled. "And it was Nico who made up that nickname for him."

"And it's not hard." Jason mumbled, in response to Will. "Leaving, I mean."

Percy nodded as he chose a film. It played on low volume in the background. "Not everybody can adapt to this kind of situation. Nico is so fragile and delicate, you have to be extremely careful. But we're human, we forget and we make mistakes."

"Interaction with Nico requires a hundred percent sterility." Jason said. "Body suits, sprays, decontamination and sterilization everytime you have to enter his room. You have to always be mentally present. He literally has no defenses."

"Except for that tongue of his." Percy rolled his eyes. "All that time alone with his books' made him so salty."

"Try not to take anything he says to heart." Jason warned Will. "You have to remember that he doesn't spend a lot of time with people. And with some of the few he does spend time with, they aren't all kind to him."

"Seriously?" Will asked.

"Sickening to hear, right?" Jason shook his head in dismay. "At first, some people who came in at the same time as us, only agreed because of the money. That's why it's more strict this year."

Will felt a tension in the air. "What happened?"

"Someone hit Nico." Jason ground out.

"Son of a bitch paid for it though." Percy said. "Had his license revoked. Nico is a special case so there are special penalties."

Will felt just a tiny bit scared.

"Let's watch this movie." Percy suggested softly later.

Will had his eyes on the screen, and he noticed a few things but didn't really absorb anything. His mind swarmed with the complexity of the situation. This was happening? Really? How many people knew about this? Why wasn't it a medical study? The more people in on the case woud mean the road to a faster cure.

Or maybe not. Of course people would eat up the situation, make it more dramatic, make it more severe. They woud lengthen the case study for the sake of prolonging the awaited cure. They would make a show of Nico, they would make him an expirement. Their little lab rat.

Nobody deserved that.

Will did fall asleep though, because the next thing he knew, Percy was shaking him slightly, speaking in a low soothing voice (probably his bedroom voice... PATIENT BEDROOM POCT VOICE!) and telling him that they were here. A group of no more than fifteen people were gathered on a meticulously manicured lawn in front of a two story manor. There was a man on the front porch dressed in a tailored suit. He had a tired look on his face, but despite that he looked incredibly terrifying.

"Don't worry about your bags," Percy clapped him on the shoulder. "Jason and I will put them in your room. You go ahead and meet your new employer. He's expecting questions."

Will nodded numbly as he willed his legs to follow. He moved with maybe nine other people to stand in front of Luciano who clapped his hands once they were all there. He spoke with a low baritone. "Welcome, I trust my employees have informed you about the situation and your roles here. I am grateful to have you on board and I hope to see more of you. Nico is my son, my only child. I expect that you treat him with utmost care. You will be compensated largely for your efforts and you will always be welcomed here for my services. I will not always be present to see Nico, because of my own profession. I do however have people in charge who report to me. Your food will be provided for, your rooms fully furnished. You can call your families and loved ones, but do not make the mistake to share the nature of your current assignment. I'll leave you all to Ms. McLean's capable hands."

McLean turned out to be a who smiled at them in an almost bewitching way despite the odd cuts of her brown hair. She looked almost like a kid. Will wondered about her age and snapped out of it when she started to speak. She carefully explained the mechanics of how things went on in the house as she lead them through it. Quiet whispers broke through the lawn as they followed her in. The manor's first floor was homey, it had a kitchen, a dining area that would fit at least ten people. A lounge room too, probably for breaks.

Piper paused at the foot of the stairs, gesturing around her. "This manor is our base of operations. Your rooms are in the manors beside it, and you can get your keys from me after the tour. Before we head upstairs you guys probably know about the sterilization process. You need to be a hundred percent sterile. There's a room at the top of the stairs where you'll put on your body suits on regular days or whenever you may need to see the patient. I know that some of you need to use your hands without the barrier of a skin suit, so we have some of the latest tech produced and delivered by Leo Valdez. You'll wear the suits tonight to go upstairs but once he gets here to explain the mechanics of his machines you'll be able to work in a more ergonomic-friendly environment."

There were a lot of gasps at the mention of Valdez, even Will had to take a deep breath. The man was a genius in the 21st Century. He had made a name for himself at the age of twenty-five. The man was practically a legend.

The moment they got up the stairs, Piper quickly ushered them into the small room and they all came out looking like astronauts. Will's heart in his ribcage thud loudly, because he was nervous and because of the anticipation. His mind was slowly grasping that this would be his job now. This would be his commitment. He was about to meet his patient.

Beyond the sealed door after the little room was a shocking world of white. It was even whiter than Apollo MediCorp and that was saying somethig. There wasn't any other color in the vicinity of the second floor of the main manor. And it made sense. White meant clean. And clean was what Nico needed.

"Oh good." Piper hummed. "He's awake."

Will stared through the glass walls, transfixed on the pale figure resting on the plush rug on the floor, with an open book on his lap. His head was bowed facing it but his hands did not move to turn the pages.

Percy's words from the car ride came back to him. "Luciano couldn't think of any other way to keep Nico alive."

Will wondered if that's what he would call living. 


	2. Needles

Will found it a little odd to wake in a room so big it couldn't be his. The walls were a pale yellow that were really easy on his eyes, and for once he actually felt quite rested. Probably because he actually got some sleep last night, real proper sleep. Eight hours. Not cat naps under the laboratory work bench when he had hours to make up for.

It still felt incredibly surreal. After getting his first glimpse of Nico di Angelo, their primary patient, he and the rest of the newcomers were taken to the lower floor where they had contracts out that explained the legal terms and conditions, fully explaining what would happen should their confidentiality be breached (they could kiss their licenses goodbye), how much pay they were getting (that was a lot of zeroes), what was expected of them (standard health protocol applied; pleasing personality and all others included).

Will also got his schedule. It's why he had his phone set up to alarm at around nine o'clock. Apparently, Nico didn't like waking up early. Even through isolation, he'd developed a nocturnal body clock. From what Will remembered seeing last night, Nico was extremely pale. Was he getting enough sun? Of course, it wasn't the sunlight that was too important. He'd live without the melanin, but it was the Vitamin D that was the problem here. Maybe he had injections every now and then.

Christ, this was such a complicated case.

Will rubbed at his forehead weakly, he could feel the coming of a, major migraine if he didn't stop overthinking right now. He would get his answers, or whatever answers the current medical staff could give him. And if he wanted them, he should probably get out of bed. He had a shower then readied himself to go outside. They were required to dress in their uniforms whenever they were on duty. Will wasn't sure where his labcoat had gone, probably in the main manor's second floor, all sterilized and ready for him when he visited Nico.

Nico. Did he even know about the new set of health practitioners? Probably, since Percy and Jason spoke highly of his recognition. Though it took a time for adaptation. How well would Nico react to foreign introductions though? Will was mentally praying Nico wasn't afraid of needles. He made his way to the kitchen in the manor where his room was too and nearly bumped into Percy leaving with his plate of breakfast.

"Hey!" Percy grinned at him. "Go ask Miranda for a plate then come join me in the dining room."

Will nodded then continued into the kitchen. He hovered awkwardly by the door for a moment, long enough for the redhead by the stove to notice him. She swivelled around and beamed at him, her eyes green like foliage shining.

"You must be Will." She wiped her hands over her apron and reachde one out for him to shake. "I'm Miranda Gardiner, I'm in charge of the house keeping in Asphodel. If you're in Elysium during lunch or dinner, for whatever reason, you'll meet my sister, Katie who's in charge there. If you're in Tartarus, we usually deliver food there. We don't usually eat in Blest unless Luciano asks for a formal dinner."

Will tried to process what he'd just heard. "Uh, what's Asphodel? Elysium? And, um, Tartarus?"

"Cute." Miranda chuckled. "This here manor, the one you live in, is called Asphodel. You have just about ten housemates. It's closer to Blest so you have the nurses, the physical theraphists, pathologists."

Will nodded. "Oh, okay."

"Tartarus is the manor furthest away, it's where the labs are. You'll usually have to report there often if ever Nico has to submit samples for testing. Elysium is the other manor where those who take care of the grounds and the people currently living on them stay." Miranda winked at him, turning back to her stove where there was a lot of sizzling going on.

"The entire property goes on for miles, doesn't it?" Will asked as he remembered the walk from the main manor to this manor last night. If that was the shortest distance then...

"Yeah. The manor where Nico lives is called Blest." Miranda rolled her eyes as she tossed some eggs in her skillet. "I'm not sure why the manors are named after places in the Greek Underworld, but they've stuck so we'll just have to live with them."

She turned back around with a plate full of breakfast Will wasn't sure he could finish, pushed it into his hands then pointed at the fridge. "It's usually stocked with juice. You don't look like the coffee kind of guy."

Will grinned. "Thanks."

He grabbed a bottle of OJ then made to move into the dining room but spun in his spot to face Miranda, who was back to making plates. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Miranda looked over her shoulder at him. "Welcome to the team, Will!"

Will felt a little more happier as he entered the dining room and settled beside Percy, who was halfway done with his plate.

"Morning." Will went for his bacon and eggs and hummed quietly.

"Great, isn't it?" Percy chuckled. "Miranda went to one of the best culinary schools in the world."

Will's eyes almost bugged out of his head, but he could believe that. This plate was almost as good as his mom's cooking, reallyreallyreally close. "Nobody's second rate here, huh?"

"Only the best for Nico di Angelo." Percy drank his orange juice. "You're up pretty early for a newbie. Body clock?"

"I'm on duty." Will glanced at his watch. "Well, not for another hour. What time does he usually wake up? I know not early, but I need to take his blood work for a check. Do I wake him up or wait for him to wake up?"

"He'll be up if you're scheduled in." Percy answered. "Nico sleeps like the freaking dead. If you couldn't see his chest rising and falling you'd be afraid he really was. The fact that he sleeps like oil has scared one too many nurses into almost getting myocardial infractions, trust me."

Will did. He and Percy talked a bit more about Nico and his schedule. Everything worked in a system and it was very rare for them to have an emergency.

"The people here who are loyal," Percy began as he polished off his hashbrowns. "People like me or Jason, who really care for him, He's an adorable little shit. He's just... really closed off. I'm not a psychologist like Drew or Piper, but I'm sure you can't blame him for being like that. He's really sheltered."

"He has a psychologist?" Will reached for his orange juice. "He really has a complete team here, huh?"

"Yup." Percy hummed. "He's also got a dentist, optometrist, the works but they don't come in too often. Just twice a year. They're really nice cause he's grown on them. I hope he grows on you."

Will chuckled. "I'm sure he will. He's the same age as me."

"True," Percy conceded. "Mayhaps you two will get along better. He used to ignore me for being older than him. Apparenlty not responding to adults became his defense mechanism after being prodded and tested for so long."

"Speaking of prodding and testing," Will pushed his plate away now that it was empty. "How does he feel about needles?"

"He hates them." Percy pat Will on the shoulder sympathetically. "MT's always get the worst end of the stick. He might not like you on the principle that you're an MT, even. Sorry bud."

"That's okay." Will sighed. "This job couldn't have been too easy."

"Don't I know it." Percy leaned back in his chair. "When I needed to give Nico shots, like vitamin shots prescribed by his dietician, I had a black eye for my efforts. He's tiny but he's really fast."

"Will I have to restrain him?" Will asked seriously.

Percy shook his head, "No he's better with responding to needles now. He won't lash out but he won't like you very much either. He usually ignores me for a day after I've come after him with a needle. If it keeps him healthy, I can live with that."

Will nodded.

"What time's your shift again?" Percy started to clear up his plate, taking Will's with it. "You should probably head out and meet Leo. He'll get you sanitized and prepped with your kit."

"Oh shit, right." Will stood up. "They'll have the phleb kit ready?"

Percy nodded. "Good luck, man!"

"Thanks!" Will made his way out of Asphodel and walked towards Blest. He timed it on his watch so he could be sure of how long of a walk it would be. Ten minutes, not so bad.

Piper was in the foyer when he came in, he hadn't been sure if he was supposed to knock but the door was open so he didn't bother.

"You're early!" Piper clapped her hands. She was really short compared to Will, but she had an aura around her that was really charming. "I remember you last night, but I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Will." Will wondered when he'd have to stop introducing himself.

"Piper." The brunette smiled. "You'll be officially on duty in twenty minutes, give or take. You should go upstairs so you can be briefed. Leo's already there waiting for any of the new staff so everything should be going smoothly. Any questions?"

Will gave himself a moment to think. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-five." Piper rolled her eyes, what color were they? "Now get upstairs!"

Will chuckled and climbed up, only to be nearly floored by a man in a red labcoat. "Woah!"

"Sorry! I wasn't sure if it was Beauty Queen coming up, wanted to scare her. You're new." The man had black hair and warm brown eyes and a really kind smile. He was eyeing Will's name plate. "MedTech huh. This is gonna be really tough for you and Wednesday in there."

"Wednesday?" Will echoed as Leo gestured for him to go into the prep room where several equipment had been turned off last night.

"It's a nickname." Leo expained as he brought some of the machines to life. "Nico's practically a lost Adam's family child. Plus he hates Wednesdays, don't know why though."

Will's lips quirked up ever so slightly. So Nico did have a personality.

Leo adapted a really calm and collected demeanor once all his things were ready. "Okay, so this here are some mega sanitizers. They're almost like biosafety cabinets with HEPA filters installed so that air is brought upwards instead of allowed to linger anywhere as they please. If you noticed, the entire second floor has HEPA filters installed, all with pipes that lead air outside but never in. That's why it's so clean here."

"You need to be able to touch Nico while you're with him, and taking a shower every time you have to go isn't exactly ergonomcially friendly so I made these." Leo gestured to something that looked like a metal detector. "You just go through this tunnel and you get cleaned of every bacteria on your person. It'll beep when you're supposed to move forward. Question?"

"Yeah," Will blurted out. "Even normal flora? I mean, they're just colonies. They aren't hurting anyone."

"They could hurt Nico." Leo reminded him gently. "He literally has no defense, his body couldn't tell whether something is just there to live or something is there to hurt him."

"Right." Will nodded. "So I just go through here?"

"That's right. Once you're through you'll pass through another arch but that's just to see if anything got left behind." Leo smirked smugly. "Which has never happened since I actually got past the fifty-eight prototype."

Will was amazed.

"Anyways, all your equipment are in there. You'll have a tackle box with your name, all your phlebotomy stuff should be in it. If you need something that isn't there, there's an equipment room at the very left end."

"Yeah, Piper showed us last night."

"I deem you ready." Leo said with a flourish. "Good luck with Nico. He hates needles."

"I heard." Will shared one last smile with Leo before he stepped through the doorway then held still. Then he continued to the next arch and got another beep. Then he was in the white room. He looked over his shoulder to say goodbye to Leo, but the man in the red lab coat was no longer there.

Will continued to the shelves he remembered seeing last night in search of his tackle box. He had a schedule to follow. He found it and saw a white tackle box with his name on it. Inside were the standard tubes, tourniquet, gloves, syringes, cotton balls, alcohol pads, micropore tape, and sharps container. He eyed the request slip that came with it and surveyed the tests to be performed.

"Cholesterol, TAG, Glucose - FBS." Will cursed softly under his breath. "He must be hungry."

Glucose FBS meant fasting blood sugar. That particular test required at least eight to twelve hours of fasting. That meant Nico hadn't eaten breakfast yet since he had to have his blood taken before he could take a single bite. Even with a pre-occupied mind, Will approached the sealed door with caution. He punched in the key number and entered the room slowly. He hoped he wouldn't have to wake Nico, and the gods were kind to him.

Nico was sitting in an extraction chair, which looked incredibly comfortable, almost like a lazy boy, with his arm already laid on the table, squeeze ball in his palm. He flinched when Will had opened the door but otherwise made no move to acknowledge his arrival. Will inhaled deeply, then got into phlebo mode.

"Good morning!" He walked closer to the chair and set his tackle box on the table beside the chair. It was maybe because he was a professional that he hadn't dropped it on the floor.

Nico looked very much like his father, but with a mix that screamed European. His nose was straight, his eyes were almost almond shaped, sharp and defined. His lips were firmly clamped together. He looked like he wanted to scream.

Will tried to ease him with a calm smile. Patient care time. "Hi, my name's Will. I'll be your phlebotomist for today and probably the next time you'll need an extraction."

Nico visibly winced at that but he kept his eyes on Will to show that he was listening. Good, Will could work with that. Screw standard patient care.

Will placed sat down on the floor with his legs crossed. Nico's eyes went a little wide at that. "You're nervous. That's okay, I know a lot of peopled don't like needles. They're pretty painful, especially when they're jabbed carelessly."

Nico was biting on his bottom lip. Then he nodded.

"I know," Will hummed. "I'm not one to brag but I've been told I have a very light hand. I'll do my very best not to hurt you. If you want I'll explain everything to you with every step."

There was a moment of consideration, then Nico nodded again.

Will stood up with a smile. "Great."

He opened his tackle box then pulled out everything he would need. He moved the syringe as slowly as possible, because the thing was a 50cc syringe, which was huge. He knew the moment Nico saw it, because Nico's leg kicked out and hit him.

"Hey," Will turned to him. "I'm not exactly going to fill this up. I only need 20cc. It's either this or a vacutainer, which one would you prefer?"

Nico was glaring at him, his brown eyes shining like chocolate beneath his black bangs. He looked like he had a lot of things to say but Will knew he'd be silent for the rest of this. He almost dropped his yellow top tubes when he heard it.

"I'll take the stupid vacutainer, at least it doesn't look like it's gonna suck all my blood out." Nico grumbled.

Will blinked at him stupidly for a moment. Hadn't Percy said...?

"Okay," Will put the syringe back into his tackle box and produced a multi-draw needle from it. He checked to make sure it had a back-flow system installed.

"What are you doing?"

Jesus Christ, Nico was still speaking. Will was glad the damn needle still had its cover otherwise he might have stabbed himself. Which was really stupid because what did it matter that Nico was speaking? This was normal.

"Checking the needle." Will willed (haha) his voice to stay calm. "I need to make sure blood will flush back when I hit your vein so it'll all go smoothly."

"If that's above standard then they're probably all like that." Nico mumbled softly.

Will felt like an idiot. "Right. But it doesn't hurt to check."

Nico shrugged, but he looked more calm now. "What will you do next?"

Will glanced at his now prepared equipment. He'd stuck the multi-draw needle into he hub, twisted it tight to make sure it wouldn't detach. He alreay has his cotton mballs, alcohol pad out. He put his gloves on then stretched the tourniquet, making sure it wouldn't snap.

"I'll be palpating your vein." Will told him. "Are you allergic to latex?"

Nico stared at him like he was dumb.

"Standard procedure." Will teased.

A weird look crossed Nico's face. "I guess not?"

"Great." Will hummed pleasantly. "I take it you prefer venipuncture on this arm? Is this where they usually stick you?"

"Yeah," Nico said. "It's my non-dominant hand."

"Okay." Will tied to the tourniquet around Nico's arm then gently palpated for his vein. It was useless of course because Nico was so pale his veins were practically screaming at Will. He untied the tourniquet and grabbed the alcohol, then paused.

"What's the matter?" Nico asked.

"I'm thinking." Will mumbled. "If everything in this room is sterile, then do I have to disinfect your arm?"

"I never thought about it." Nico told him. "The others before you never bothered to tell me what they were doing. They just tried to talk to me and stuff."

"I thought so." Will frowned. "It's in the tackle box though, so it's meant to be used."

"Probably."

"I'm using it."

"I'm not stopping you." Nico turned his head. "If I could stop you I would have already."

"It'll be okay, Nico." Will wiped at his skin with an alcohol pad then let it air dry. "You know what that part of your body is called?"

"What?" Nico mumbled flatly.

"The antecubital fossa." Will chuckled and he talked as he rechecked his equipment. Needle still sturdy, cotton ball with micropore ready. "I know, and the outside is called your olecranol."

Nico was starting to breathe a little too fast.

"You want me to go on?"

"Keep talking." Nico paused. "It's... it's actually helping."

"All this science makes it all less scary, doesn't it?" Will grinned. "I'm gonna use a twenty-three gauged needle. That's pretty tiny compared to others. You see, the higher the number, the smaller the needle. Your skin's just about dry, I can get started. Close your fist for me, please and if it helps, you should probably look away. I'll warn you when I'm about to stick."

Nico did as he was told, the stress ball that had been in his hand earlier had fallen to the floor and rolled away. White against white in the incredibly white room.

Will re-tied the tourniquet, anchored Nico's skin with his thumb, counted to three out loud then pushed the needle in with the bevel facing up. He kept his eyes on the tip, watching for the flush of blood and he breathed more easily when he got it.

He reached for a yellow-topped tube and carefully lodged it into the hub. Dark red liquid flowed. Good, he didn't hit the artery.

"W-What are the yellow tubes for?" Nico's voice called softly.

"They're for FBS, fasting blood sugar. And generally all other types of tests." Will replied as he pulled the first tube out, inverted it delicately five times, before slipping another tube in, trying to do it as gently as possible. "They have a serum-separator gel inside that does my work for me."

Nico gave a small huff. "Really?"

"I would never lie to you." Will glanced at him, smiling softly. "You can ask me anything you want Nico, I'll try to answer the best I can. You're allowed to ask questions. I'm surprised you didn't before."

"Not everyone's open to questions." Nico told him. "I think my father asked them not to answer me just in case they overwhelmed me and scared me."

"You were probably very young then." Will pulled the second tube out, inverted it, then grabbed another tube then repeated the process. "You're more prepared now. You're handling this very well."

"You're okay..." Nico mumbled. "It didn't hurt when you stuck me."

"Hmm," Will beamed but tried to keep his happiness to a minimum. "It doesn't hurt when I swap tubes?"

"Not really." Nico tried to shrug but probably felt the needle still stuck in his arm. "I've had worse."

"True." Will grabbed another tube. "Okay, this is the last one."

It was silent while will watched the tube fill up, then he grabbed the tourniquet and tugged on the end, effectively untying it. He tugged the tube out when it was full then inverted it. He then set it down on his rack before he reached for a cotton ball and let it hover above the needle.

"Nico," Will began softly. "I'm done taking blood now, I have to remove the needle and it might hurt just a little bit."

"Okay."

"One, two, three-." Will pulled the needle out, slowly because it hurt more when done quickly. He lowered the cotton ball and applied pressure, reaching out with his other hand to slide the needle back into it's cap, then tossing it into his sharp's container.

Nico was blinking at him. "That didn't hurt at all."

"I tried my best." Will grinned. "Mind putting some pressure on the cotton ball for me, don't bend your elbow otherwise you'll get a hematoma."

"A what?"

"A bruise." Will started to label the tubes. "I think it's kinda funny that I have to label all this since you're my only patient, but protocol I guess."

"Right..." Nico mumbled.

Will tidied his little set-up and put it all back into his tacklebox. He turned back to Nico when he was done, and gently pried the hand applying pressure on the cotton ball.

"Nicely done." Will grinned. The puncture site was clean and looked in no danger of bruising. He put the cotton ball with the micropore tape he'd had prepared before and stuck it onto Nico then disposing all the infectious wastes he had in a yellow bag that came with the tacklebox.

His job was done... now what?

"You can go." Nico told him. "MT's don't stay long. They usually take my blood then go to Tartarus. Jason or Percy should be coming along."

"Right." Will picked up his tacklebox. "Sorry about that, first day and all."

"No worries." Nico stood up from his chair and towards a table that could seat four. He reached for what was probably his breakfast.

Will felt like a total creep just standing there, so he made his way out of Nico's room and off of the second floor entirely. He was already half way outside when he realized he had no idea where Tartarus was.

But his mind was even more pre-occupied, because for some reason, he was utterly mystified.

Nico di Angelo was not what he'd expected.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoshey guys, I can't believe you actually liked it! I thought it would be boring! Also, this is a long chapter which I hadn't anticipated. I think I got carried away.
> 
> There's a lot more jargon in this chapter too. I'd just like to make it formally known that I have no idea if Leo's inventions actually exist. HEPA filters I know are found in biosafety cabinets which MTs use when dealing with bacteria. It literally directs air particles to flow upwards and away. 
> 
> My tackle box is purple and so is everything inside XD Will would like an orange tackle box, I think, but everything in Blest' second floor is freaking white. Except Nico's hair and eyes.


	3. Cytogenetics

Will had an incredibly strong shiver go down his spine as he stepped into what everybody called Tartarus. He's been on the job for almost a month now, and Tartarus still gave him the creeps. It gave off the sort of vibe you'd get at a morgue. There was no noise, there was no... life. Absolutely no life at all, which didn't make sense because the majority of the health team stayed here during the day as they processed tests and went about in little meetings to discuss Nico's current state of being.

He had to go in and join one in a half hour or so after he collected the test results Dr. Hedge had asked him to make. They were more blood works, as expected, and he wasn't even sure what they were doing to Nico's blood. He wasn't a blood banking specialist and he wasn't an immunology and serology specialist either.

Maybe he could take some training after he finished his time here taking care of Nico. Their contract had made it clear that they would still have to continue on brushing up on their education and develop more of their skills. Since most of what they did for Nico was pretty downright basic, Luciano di Angelo would personally send them out every three months. That way Nico would be exposed to more people (albeit in a tightly controlled environment for his safety) and the health team would have time to personally improve. The individuals Nico eventually ended up liking, or at least not ignoring, would get their contracts renewed after a year.

It was almost maddening how amazing this was for Will. Seriously, how could people choose to leave this job? And how could people choose to hurt Nico? Will hadn't really spent a lot of time with him other than the visits for samples (Mostly blood. He wasn't sure how Nico would react to him when he needed swabs samples. That could get a little awkward... maybe) but Nico was always nice to Will though, or maybe he was... uh, pleasant? He was never rude to Will, and he talked to him when Will had to do his thing. Nico never said goodbye though, and just left the extraction chair without bothering to see if Will went out. The second time Will had had to make an extraction was at around eleven in the evening after a grueling rundown of how things worked in Tartarus. He hadn't been at his very best mental state when he suddenly had to get a STAT test processed. Maybe it was his tired mind or maybe it was his imagination, but Nico had looked like he was hoping Will wouldn't leave due to the late hour.

He must actually like having company, he was just... really shy about it. Or unsure about it.

Will worried on his bottom lip for a moment. He wasn't sure what stipulations covered his involvement with Nico. Was he allowed... to make friends? Probably? Right? Since Percy and Jason were sorta maybe his friends? Was he supposed to keep this on a strictly formal patient-health care provider relationship? Psh. Even with regular patients Will had been extremely friendly. It made for good health service.

So many contradicting thoughts plagued Will's mind as he made his way through Tartarus, got up on the second floor and into the designated room for meetings. He slipped into the MT seat beside Percy and on his other side Jason. Both were flipping through the dossiers for the upcoming meeting.

"Hey there." Percy greeted him first. He shut his folder and leaned back in his seat.

"Hi." Will had gotten more comfortable with the two over the course of one month. They were really nice, despite being a few years older than Will and in fact, they actually behaved a lot more childishly than Will on a good day.

Jason had given up reading his dossier and slumped on the meeting table, his head buried in his arms. "Nico was in a mood this morning. He refused to let me move his arms or his legs. Says he isn't an invalid and his muscles are working just fine."

"At least he's talking to you." Percy grumbled. "I think he's mad I didn't tell him I'd be gone longer than the usual three months. It's gonna take even a longer time of groveling to get him to talk to me again."

"You know he hates it when people disappear like that." Jason rolled blue, blue eyes. "He's not talking to me too often either. Just when I rile him up enough. He's actually pretty expressive once you get him going. One day you'll see that."

"Sure." Will hummed. "He and I talk just fine though."

"Wha??" Percy, who had been tipping his chair back, accidentally kicked off the ground at what Will had said. He scrambled to his feet, waving away Will and Jason's worried looks. "I'm fine! I'm fine! The more important thing here is that Nico's been talking to you?"

"Yeah?" Will couldn't move under Percy's excited stare. His sea green eyes were so wide with absolute joy that Will wondered if he'd just announced that the world had declared peace. "I tell him about what I'm doing, what tests he's getting and he asks questions. He's actually... pretty curious."

"Good." Percy was fighting off the smile on his face but the smile was too intense to hold back. "That's... that's good. Great, even. Jesus, Will where have you been all these years? Don't answer that. He's been responding to you, that's enough. I started with one worded answers, I still sometimes get it now. Did you too?"

"Huh?" Will blinked, the conversation going too fast for him. Percy talked fast. "Uh, no he was actually a little salty when he talked to me. You were right about the attitude."

"He was downright sassy?!" Percy was frowning now. "That's not fair, he made all of us go through the one worded answers. What makes you so special?"

"I have no idea." Will deadpanned, then got a thoughtful look on his face. "Why do you two push him to talk though?"

Percy gave him a look that made him think he'd just asked a stupid question. "Because he needs to talk, Will. All this isolation can't be good for his self-esteem or his personality in general. I mean, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with him. But humans are social creatures, Nico needs to talk and spend time with people even if he has to be shut away like this. Look at what happened to Elsa."

"Anna didn't try hard enough." Jason agreed on Will's other side.

Will burst out laughing. "I can't believe how almost half the board exam passers thought you two were absolutely cool and manly. You're dorks."

"You're one of us now." Percy winked at him. "Welcome to the dorks side."

"I've always been a dork." Will grinned. "Is Nico a dork?"

"He's an absolute nerd." Jason rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "He likes card games. And not any of the new card games, but old games that he played with his sister."

Sister. Right. Nico had a sister. Over the month, will hadn't really consciously tried to learn more about her, but even if he had it would have been useless. There was nothing in Blest, Asphodel, or even Tartarus that showed one Bianca di Angelo existed. There weren't any pictures or documents. Perhaps they had been hidden away, perhaps the loss was still too painful. There was no trace of Nico's mother either.

"Percy," Will tried his luck. "Can you tell me about Nico's family?"

A confused look crossed Percy's face but he didn't think twice as he stretched his back muscles. "Nico's dad is the owner of several business ventures, he's also a lawyer but hasn't taken a case in a long time. His father, Nico's grandfather, owns an incredibly big chain of funeral parlors all across America. That's why they can provide all this for Nico, who is currently the sole heir."

Will wondered if his brain was still with him.

"Nico used to have a sister, who died when he was ten." Percy paused. "Her name was Bianca, and she looked just like him. Freckles on her face, brown eyes, and black hair that curled in smooth waves."

A soft and sad look crossed Percy's face. "That was how Nico described her when I asked him. I never got the chance to meet her, but she sounded like something else."

"Nico said she sang really beautifully." Jason tapped his fingers on the table. "Got it from their mother. I didn't get to meet her either, but one time when I was helping Piper move some stuff around, we found these old VHS tapes. It was a filmed opera recital in Italy. Bianca had to be six years old there, singing on a stage with her mother. She would have had such a great future."

"I bet." Will whispered. Nico would have had such a great future too. He had the means and had circumstances allowed it, Will was sure Nico would have had the drive. Because it sure as hell sounded like Bianca did. "What happened to her?"

"It was really sudden." Percy said. "She was touring the world by herself for the first time, two months later Luciano got a call from a hospital in Texas. Bianca was losing her will to live and Luciano barely flew in to see her one last time with Nico before she was just gone."

A heavy lump nudged itself in Will's throat. He swallowed it down hard like a bad pill. Something changed inside Will at that moment, that even when the meeting was suddenly called to order with a rushing of individuals he didn't mind at all. He'd learned something good, he'd learned something big. Nico di Angelo was someone he needed to help, someone he wanted to help. Nico had so much in life in store for him, and if he couldn't bring Nico out he would bring it all to Nico.

For now, Will focused on the meeting which was being lead by Frank Zhang, Luciano's right hand man.

"Good morning everybody." He was built really well, also very tall. He had Asian heritage and Will had met him only once through the course of the month. He had really nice and kind eyes. Frank looked around the room and acknowledge them all. There was Percy, Will, Jason, Reyna, Drew on one side as Nico's personal nurse, medical technologist, physical therapist, dietitian, and psychologist. On the other side of the long table was Miranda, Leo, Clarisse, Luke, and an empty seat that's never been filled even in the past meetings. They were the heads of housekeeping, maintenance, security, and communications.

Will had made the observation before, but he marveled at how incredibly young they all were. Everyone was between the ages of twenty-three to twenty-eight. That's... were these people prodigies? They were also from different places all around the world. Luciano had spared no cost to get his son the very best of the best. Perhaps maybe this board of people were a junior-level division. They didn't have any pathologists here, which meant that there was a higher division where mostly more... old-seasoned members must be.

Frank started the meeting by consulting the different members of their current news on Nico. Percy had his standard update on Nico's vitals, how he'd been sleeping better. He smiled at Drew when he said it, "You guys must be helping."

"Probably." Drew hummed, tossing her blond curls over her shoulder. She was actually exceptionally beautiful. And Will learned that she wasn't originally the head psychologist in charge. It was Piper, but Piper was taking a break from her duties and just generally helping around the grounds. "I cannot wait for Pipes to get back to being his head psychologist. It isn't easy to get much out of him."

"Still," Percy didn't want to downplay Drew's efforts, but his praises were clearly unwelcome. He cleared his throat then went back to describing Nico's weight and height growth. "I have no idea if he even needs GH shots since he's not exactly going anywhere and he's perfectly fine as he is at twenty-three. Two inches in a month isn't bad at all."

Will wanted to say that Percy was right and Nico most definitely did not need any growth hormone injections but that wasn't for him to decide. Frank was looking at Reyna, expert dietitian, who was giving them all a blank stare. She gestured to the dossier on the table. "It's not as if you don't know what food he's taking. You all eat exactly what he eats. The menus are just double in your case. He's never had any allergic reactions to anything, which is expected since he hasn't got any antibodies to react with. He's also perfectly supplied with the necessary balanced elements. He has extra vitamin boosts to keep him on the side of healthy, far away from the middle line. It's just... his body isn't taking too well to everything. I think it's even looking for natural subsistence."

"Natural how?" Frank asked.

Percy had a considering look on his face. "Like instead of vitamin D shots, he just sits in the sun for a while. We can't do that Reyna, you know Luciano won't risk Nico going outside."

"How about installing windows at least?" Reyna implored. She turned to Drew. "He must miss the sun?"

"I wouldn't know if he did." Drew waved a hand carelessly. "He's never mentioned it much and he doesn't like the lights I have on whenever I need to talk to him. I think he likes the darkness. I wouldn't blame him. His entire room is freaking white! It's whiter than milk."

"Here we go again." Jason mumbled beside Will. "Look Drew, it's not our decision what color his room is."

"No, it's Chase's decision and she isn't even here." Drew spat, glaring at Percy.

"Don't start, Drew." Percy sighed tiredly.

"I just don't get why you won't consider changing his room." Drew said. "He's clearly got color preferences, which I find amazing since he doesn't have a speck of color in his environment. You are depriving him of his needs."

"You know why we can't add color." Frank's eyes were slightly narrowed. "It's too dangerous. It's easy to miss something when there's a lot of color. If his environment is white, we can at least make sure that what shouldn't be there isn't there. We can make sure his environment is clean."

"Please," Drew gave an exasperated breath. "Nico is not going to get sick just because we add a black chair in his room. Nothing's gotten past Valdez' contraptions, right?"

"And nothing ever will." Leo promised heatedly, an almost sad look in his eyes. "But Drew we have to cut back where we can. We can't afford to slip and have Nico getting hurt. We could lose him Drew."

"I know!" Drew moved both her hands in the air like she was about to throttle someone but she kept them there, frozen as if to keep the rest of her from moving. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, then she opened them and stared determinedly on the table in front of her. "I just wish you could hear him when he speaks to me. He misses being normal."

Will remembered that there had been a time that Nico hadn't been trapped in isolation. For some reason, he had never had antibodies before, his blood was considered null. It put him really close to type AB which had A and B antigens but no antibodies. But with blood work, Nico didn't have antigens either. That made him double negative. He also didn't have the Rh factor. It was just so stupidly complex and the epistatic gene in both Nico and Bianca hadn't become fatal until Bianca had turned sixteen and she'd decided to travel the world. She didn't even make it past two months before she died.

A collective wave of sadness went through the meeting room, and Frank told them all what they so despairingly already knew.

"But he's not normal."

Will tried to remember what he could about multiple-alleles, genotypes, sex-linked factors, cytogenetics... could there be...?

"What if he is?"

Then they were all staring at him. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look guys a chapter~ 
> 
> More Nico in the next chapter, I swear. Also, I'm sorry about all the typos, I don't have the time to go back and reread the chapters since I write in between all the stuff I'm studying. 
> 
> BEHOLD. NICO MAY BE NORMAL. 
> 
> I try my best to explain whatever words I introduce, if anything confuses you right now, please point it out and I'll gladly explain it ; w ; 
> 
> Thank you so much for all your lovely comments!

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know bruhs. The plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone.


End file.
